Apparatus for handling brick



R. B. COBB.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BRICK.

APPLICATION FILED IIJNE Io, 1920.

1,389977@ Patented. Jun@ 7, 1921.,

ZISHEETS- SHEET l.

B. B. COBB.

APPARATUS FOB HANDLING BRICK.

APPLICATION FILED IuNE Io, 1920.

Patented June 79 R921.,

LBBJTY@ 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2A are ses RALPH B. COBB, OF RIVER FOREST,ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS son HANDLING BRICK.

Lasarte.

To all whom it may concer-n: Be it known that I, RALPH B. COBB, acitizen of the United States, and a resident -of River Forest, in thecounty of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements' in Apparatus for Handling Brick, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings.

My invention relates to apparatus for movingor transporting brick inmass, as from drying cars to the kiln, or tol a warehouse, &c. In brickyards, the brick, either finished or unfinished, are usually arranged inpiles, the bricks of the bottom course be'- ing arranged in a series ofspaced'parallel rows, each row being composed of pairs of bricks setclose together, the rows being usually four bricks in length. y'Ihewidth of the spaces between the several rows is usually equal to thethickness of a single brick. Above the bottom course the bricks arepiled close together in crisscross rows to a height of about four feet.These figures are given merely for illustration, as so far asymyinvention is concerned it is essential onl that the bricks be piled sothat there is a gottom course composed of separated parallel rows, withone or more courses above the lowermost' course. The length of theseveral rows may vary as conditions require or make desirable. In pilingbricks in this way it frequently occurs that the bricks of each of thelowermost rows are not exactly alined with each other, and k,also thatthe rows are not uniformly made up of pairs l of bricks, so that therows will in practice be somewhat irregular, although they ap# proximateparallel straight lines.

Various attempts. have heretofore been madeto provide an apparatus whichwould successfully handle bricks piled as above described, but forvarious reasons they have not proven successful, and so far as Iamawareno one has heretofore provided an apparatus which meets the exacting re-Y quirements of the situation. To provde an apparatus which will"operate successfully for this purpose is theobject of my invention,which object I accomplish as illustrated inthe drawings and hereinafterdescribed. What I regard as new is set forth in the claims. p

In the accompanying drawings,"v Figure l qis `a central verticalsectional view of my improved apparatus; y

specificationff Letters Patent. Patented Jun@ mutation tied :tune 1o,1920. seriai No. 381,863.

Fig. 2 is a. plan view of the suspending Jtilevices, showing theturntable partly in secion;

Fig. 8 is a rear elevation of the apparatus on a reduced scale;

F ig. 4 is a partial plan view of the lower portion of the apparatus,some parts being in section;

Fig. 5 is a partial vertical section on line 5 5 of'Fig. t;

Fig, 6 is a perspectiveview of one of the cIaInpingplates, partly brokenaway; and

Fig` is a perspective view of -atypical pile of bricks, also partlybroken away.

Referring to the drawings,-8 indicates the lowermost course of brickswhich, as shown in Fig. 7,' comprises a number of parallel rows ofbricks having spaces 9 between them forming parallel tunnels whichextend under the upper courses, and my improved apparatus is designed tolift such a pile of brick as a unit without disarrang- Ving them ordamaging the bricks, which may be more or less soft depen-ding upontheir condition at the time they are being handled. 'I o this end myapparatus comprises a series of parallel arms l0 of such shape anddimensions that they are adapted to be introduced into the tunnels, orspaces 9 and to extend throughout the length of said tunnels. rllhesearms are securely con- 'nected together in any suitable manner so as toform a rigid frame, but for this purpose I prefer to' secure them at oneend to a crossbar or plate l1. This is best accomplished by providingthe bar 1l with holes adapted to receive tenons l2 at the inner ends ofthe bars l0, which tenons may be upset or riveted so as to form a secureconnection. Also U-shaped braces 13 are secured to the bar ll and toadjoining arms 10, the end portions of said braces being inset so as tobe flush with the arms 10, as shown in Fig. 4. The intermediate portionsof the ,braces 13 are extended upwardly, as shown at 13'1 in Fig. 5, soas to secure greater strength and. rigidity.

The cross-bar ll is provided with means for suspending it from a craneand for permitting of fthe angular Iadjustment of the arms 10, ,thisbeing best accomplished by having their upper portions extended over thearms 10 at a sufficient height so as tol Lproviding said bar with twouprights 14 55 rlhe4 construction' of 2these clamps is best rlhe plates17 and 19 are preferably connected together by lugs 20 which rise atsuitable intervals from the plate 17 and fit in notches in the marginalportion oaf the plate 19, screws 21 which extend through the lugs 20into the plate 19 serving to connect said, parts firmly together. This7Mconstruction permits the plates 17 and 19 to be separated readily whendesired.- 22 indicates bolts which connect the plate 17 with the channelbeams 16 and also with the members 15. 23 indicates a series of links,`preferably four in number, which are connected at their lower Vends toeye-bolts 24, moiunted in the rotary plate 18. the-"upper ends of saidlinks being connected to a collar or sleeve 25 carrying a swiveled hook'26, shown in Figs. 1 and 3, by which the agparatus may be con nected tothe4 crane. y this construction the point of support olf the apparatusis brought substantially over the load carried by the arms 10 so thatthe load when lifted maintains-a substantially horizontal position, andit will be apparent that by supporting the arms 10 in the mannerdescribed they may be .swung around at any desired angle to facilitatethe introduc/tion ofl the arms 10 into the tunnels 9.

ln order to adapt the apparatusVv to take up a pile of bricks each ofthe intermediate arms 10 is provided with ja series of clamps arrangedin two rows at opposite sides of the` arm, one of such clamps beingprovided for each brick ofthe row As such rows are ordinarily fourbricks in length, as above stated, the apparatus is preferably providedwith four clamps along each side of each of the intermediate arms 10.rllhe outside arms r10 are, however, provided witlf clamps at theirinner sides only, as shown at the top in Fig. 4,v as these outside armsdo not enter the tunnels 9, but lie parallel with theoutermost rows ofbricks in the bottom course.

shown in Figs. 5 and 6, from which it pwill be seen that each clampcomprises a plate 27 having hinge portions 28 near .its upper margin,between which hinge port'ons is a wing or arm 29 which extends upwardlyat "an angle to the main portion of the plate.

Preferably the hinge portions 2S, and wing 29 are formed by slittingthel upper mar-- gin of the clamp and rolling the end por- .enables themto. adaptfthemselvesrto the tions to form sleeves adapted toy receivel.a pintle, as illustrated in Fig. 6. This leaves the intermediateportion or wing 29- somewhat shorter in length than the main por-` tionof the clamp, which is desirable in order that adjoining clamps may notinterfere with each other. rlhese clamps are mounted" plates. Theclamping'plates are mounted so that they normally lie parallel with theside faces of the arms 10, with'the wings 29 extending over the uppersurfaces ofsaidarm and .at an anglethereto, as shown in Fig. 5. Thearrangement is such that when the arms. 10 are inserted in the tunnels 9the wings 29 are in juxtaposition to the lower surfaces of the bricks inthe second course, and consequently if the arms 10 be then lifted theweight of the superimposed bricks will bear down on the wings 29 rockingthe clamping plates so as to swing them out-l ward, or away fromthe arm10 upon -which they are mounted, thus causing them to bear `firmlyagainst the exposed faces of the sol of the outer surfaces thereof.- TobetterI adapt the clamping plates to operate in this manner they aremade slightly flexible or elastic t0 enable them to lieuclosely againstand present an'extended'bearing surface to the bricks; but, of course,they must not be madeso flexible as to impair: theireiiciency as clamps.As each co-acting pair of clamps,

z'. e., lthe opposed clamps, of two adjoining f v arms 10, act on .asingle brick or pair of bricks awiu be evident .that even if Such bricks.are not exactly in line with the adjoining ones no harm will result,and if the bricks should be .piled so' that the, lower coursel insteadof having double rows-ofi" bricks has one' or more rows vmade up in..

whole br in vpart of single,bricksthe clamps 'Y will neverthelessoperate properly, as the clamping plates aremade wide enough 'so as to'be capable ofvgripping single bricks 'as well/as double bricks, landtheir flexibility An important advantage of my improvedl apparatus isthat I provide a very simple constructionr which has no springs, gears,levers or other parts which are apt to get out of order. If a -clampingplate should be broken or for any reason become inoperative it canreadily be replaced by removing the rod on which it is mounted. The'apparatus can, therefore, be economically manufactured and used.

What l claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A brick handling apparatus comprising a frame having a plurality ofparallel arms projecting therefrom and adapted to be introduced intothe. spaces between parallel rows of bricks, and 4clamping devicescarried by `said arms'and arranged to be directly actuated tooperatively engage the bricks of such rows by the weight of brickssuperimposed thereon.-

2. A brick handling 'apparatus comprising a frame having a plurality ofparallel arms projectin therefrom and adapted to be introduce into thespaces between parallel rows of bricks, and clamping devices hinged uponsaid arms and normally projecting above the' upper surfaces thereof,whereby they are adapted to be engaged by the suj erimposed bricks whenthe apparatus is ifted.

- 3. A brick handling-'apparatus comprising a frame having a pluralityof parallel arms projecting therefrom and adapted to be introduced intothe spaces between parallel rows of bricks, and clamping devices hingedupon said arms, said clamping devices having angularly arranged `wingsextending over the upper portions of said arms and adapted to be engagedby thesuperimposed bricks when the apparatus is lifted.

4.L A brick handling apparatus comprising a frame having a plurality ofparallel arms projecting therefrom and adapted to be introduced into thespaces between parallel rows of bricks, clamping plates pivotally` ,fconnected with said larms near the upper margins thereof, said platesbeing normally 'f disposed parallel with the side facesrof said arms,and upwardl nected with said p ates and adapted to engage thesuperimposed bricks for actuating said plates. Y

5. A brick handling a paratus comprising `a frame having a plura ity 'ofparallel arms projecting means conprojecting therefrom and adapted to beintroduced into the spaces between parallel rows of bricks, flexibleclamping plates pivotally connected with said. arms near the uppermargins thereof, said plates being normally disposed| parallel with thesidey faces of said arms, andv upwardly projecting means connected withsaid plates and adapted t0 engage the superimposed bricks for actuatingsald plates. 6. A brick handling apparatus comprising a frame having aplurality of parallel arms projecting therefrom and adapted to beintroduced into the spaces between parallel rows of bricks, rods mountedupon said arms adjacent to the upper margins thereof, clamping platespivoted upon said rods and adapted to swing outwardly from said arms,and means actuated by the weight of the superimposed bricks when saidframe is lifted for moving said .clamping plates outwardly. j

7. A brick handling apparatus comprising a frame having a plurality ofparallel arms projecting therefrom and adapted to be introduced into thespaces between parallel rows of bricks, a plurality of clamping devicesdisposed longitudinally of said arms at o posite sides thereof, andmeans for actuating saidnclamping devices by the weight of tlfie,sinperimposed bricks when said frame is li te i 8. A brick handlingapparatus comprising i a frame having a plurality of parallel armsprojecting therefrom and adapted vto be introduced into the spacesbetween parallel rows 0f bricks, and a plurality of clamping platesdisposed longitudinally of said arms at opposite sides thereofandpivotally connected therewith,'said clamping plates having upwardlyprojecting members adapted to engage the superimposed bricks when saidframe is lifted, to actuate said clamping plates..

9. A brick a frame having a plurality of parallel arms projectingtherefromand adapted to be introduced into the 'spaces between parallelrows of bricks, a plurality of clamping de vices disposed longitudinallyof said arms at opposite sides thereof, means for actuat-v ing saidclamping devices by the weight of the superimposed bricks when saidframe is lifted, and means connected 'with said frame and disposed -oversaid arms for suspending the load.

1.0. A clamping device for brick handling apparatus comprising asuitable support, a plate hingedthereto to swir g laterally, and meansconnected with said plate and adapt ed to be actuated by superposedbricks to move said plate into operative position when the clampingdevice is lifted.J

11. A clamping device for brick handling apparatus comprising a suitablesupport, a 130 and means connected Withsaid ,plate and adapted to -beactuated by superposed l -bricks to move said plate into operative position when the clamping deviceis lifted.

12. A clamping. device for brick handling apparatus comprlsing asuibable suppor, d aplate bingedtberebo to swing' laberally all andhaving an upwardly projecting angudisposed arm connected therewith, said10 larly arm being adapted to be actuated by superposed bricks tomove'said plate into operlailiv position when the clamping device is ite A. .v

Raimi n. conn.

